Artemis the Hunter, or Archery
by tech-17
Summary: Artemis teaches Holly archery. "Artemis the hunter. I hunted you." He just might be hunting Holly. T cause I'm more paranoid than Foaly.


**Disclaimer: Eoin Colfer owns the Artemis Fowl series. Eoin Colfer is an Irish adult man. As stated in my profile, I am a 17-year-old American girl. Therefore, if you think I own Artemis Fowl, there's a lovely padded room waiting for you at the J. Argon clinic.**

TWANG!

I hovered, shielded, above the field next to Fowl Manor. When I had shown up at Fowl Manor looking for Artemis, Butler had told me to look at the archery range. I looked down. Artemis stood there with a bow, putting another arrow on the string. He pulled back and let it fly.

THWACK! The arrow landed dead center in the target. Wow. Since when did mudboy get good at something physical? I wondered if he knew I was up here and was showing off.

I landed silently next to him, still shielded. He shot another arrow, landing in the ring next to the bull's eye. Then he turned.

"Hello, Holly."

"Hi Artemis." I said, smiling at him. He was 16 now, though still short for a human. I grinned at him. "Still trying to be a modern day Robin Hood?"

Artemis scowled. Foaly had told me the mudman story of Robin Hood, steal from the rich and give to the poor. Artemis had done that. The character also was known for archery, I remembered.

"No, I am not trying to be a modern day Robin Hood."

"Yeah, but, archery? You, really? I didn't even realize mudmen still used bows and arrows."

"Mother insisted that I find a sport. Archery is considered a sport, and doesn't require running. As you know, I do not do well running, and I do not enjoy my peers commenting on my lack of ability. Besides, I am Artemis the hunter, remember?"

"This is a sport?"

"Yes. It is actually quite enjoyable." he smiled slightly. "And it's making me stronger."

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You know, it is harder than it looks."

I wasn't convinced. "It can't be that hard."

"Do you want to try?"

"I would, but your bow's too big."

Artemis looked at me. "True, but Beckett also does archery. He has a smaller bow you could use."

I shrugged. "OK."

Fairies don't do archery. Why bother? We have more advanced weaponry. Artemis walked over to a small shed near the targets and retrieved a smaller bow and a handful of arrows. "You have to use smaller arrows," he explained. "Mine are too big for Beckett's bow."

I nodded. It made sense. Artemis handed me the bow and laid the arrows at my feet. I picked one up, trying to remember how Artemis had put it on the string. I glanced up at him, feeling silly.

"I've never actually used a bow and arrow before."

"You don't know what to do?"

I shook my head. Trust Artemis to make me feel insignificant. He kneeled on the ground next to me, ignoring the fact that he would probably get grass stains on his pants. He was wearing the jeans his mother gave him for his birthday and a semi-casual shirt. He showed me how to knock the arrow onto the string and pull it with three fingers.

I looped my fingers around the string and pulled back. Artemis moved out of the way. I tried to aim, then let go. Apparently I didn't pull back far enough, as my arrow landed on the ground about a foot in front of the target.

I grabbed another arrow and put it on the string. I pulled back. Artemis reached over and took my elbow, pulling it up, then wrapped his hand around mine and pulled it back a little farther, up next to my cheek. In my ear he said, "Now aim and let go."

I did as I was told, and managed to hit the target. It was near the edge, but at least I hit it. Artemis let go of my hand and moved back. I realized that I missed his presence right behind me.

I picked up another arrow and did as Artemis had shown me. My arrow went wide, and missed the target completely. Out of the corner of my eye I glanced over at Artemis. He was kneeling in the grass next to me, watching me intently. I picked up another arrow.

"Show me again?"

Artemis nodded, moving behind me and taking my hands gently in his. He was so close to me. I shifted my weight to my other foot. Unfortunately, I was standing on uneven ground and lost my balance, falling backwards into Artemis. I was surprised when he caught me, his arms coming around me to keep me up.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I just lost my balance."

Artemis let go of me, handing me the arrow I dropped. I took it, trying to do as he had shown me. He stayed behind me, reaching around me to put his hands over mine and guide mine to where they needed to be. I realized that I liked the feel of his hands over mine. It was late October, and it was getting chilly. His hands were warm.

I shivered and he asked if I wanted to go inside. I shook my head. "We can go in after I manage to hit the target on my own."

Artemis let go, but stayed close behind me. "Does this distract you?" he asked, leaning close to me.

I shook my head, pulling the string back and closing one eye to aim. I let the arrow fly, than yelled, "Ouch!" and rubbed my arm.

The string had hit my arm and it stung. "Sorry," Artemis said. "I forgot to warn you. I don't really think about it anymore." he said, rolling up his sleeve to show me the red marks on his arm from the string hitting.

I let a couple sparks take the sting from my arm, then laid my hand on his arm and did the same. I noticed that he shuddered slightly at my touch.

"Are my hands that cold?"

"No." Artemis looked down at my hand, which was still resting on his arm. He refused to look back up at my face. "It's just, your touch."

"What about it?"

Artemis seemed nervous. "I…" he stopped, trying to figure out how to continue.

"You know that while I am cured of Atlantis Complex, bits of Orion's personality occasionally show up. For example, Orion is probably the reason I took up archery as opposed to another sport."

I nodded. Artemis sighed. "Orion had no problem proclaiming his feelings to the world. I still have trouble telling those close to me anything. I'm sure you remember what Orion told you?"

I couldn't resist picking on him. He hated being reminded of the more stupid things Orion said. "You mean the bit where he told me I had an aura that was 'pastel blue with little dolphins'?"

Artemis grimaced. "That idiot! When did he say that?"

I shrugged. "I don't remember exactly when."

"Ah. Actually, I was referring to when he said …" here he started mumbling.

"Artemis, don't mumble, it doesn't suit you. And I didn't hear what you said."

Artemis wouldn't look at me. "He said I have feelings for you."

Oh. Wait. "Was he telling the truth?" I asked incredulously. I had assumed that wasn't true, just deluded Orion talking.

Artemis nodded slightly. "When one consciousness was in charge, the other could see what was happening most of the time. So even when I was myself, Orion could see what was happening. And since he came from my head, we did share feelings, somewhat."

I felt a phantom tingle on my lips from when I kissed Artemis when we went back in time. He had feelings for me? Artemis?

"I know you don't feel the same way, and I treasure our friendship. That's why I didn't say anything. I would rather be just your friend, than not be able to be near you at all. I love you, Holly."

"You're sure you aren't Orion?" I teased, trying to figure out what to say to that. Artemis never showed feelings, even to his family. And he just said he loved me.

Artemis scowled. "Fine, make fun of me. Are you ready to go inside, or do you wish to continue archery?" his voice was cold, distant.

'What have I done?' I thought to myself. Out loud I said, "Artemis… I… I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. I just didn't know how to respond to that."

Artemis was still kneeling in the grass next to me. Now he sat down cross-legged. "I am sorry, Holly. I shouldn't have said anything. I hope we can still be friends."

I thought about that. Friends? Did I want to just be friends? I thought about the time when I went out with Trouble. He was a good friend, and I knew he had a crush on me, but after one date, I told him that I wanted to stay friends. I wondered what would happen on a date with Artemis. I thought about when we went back in time. I remembered asking him if it would be that bad if I were stuck as an adolescent. His face had been conflicted, as if he wanted to answer. Then he told me that he had lied to me, and ruined the moment.

Artemis had tortured himself over that, feeling horrible about it. I forgave him, it's in my nature. I don't know if he forgave himself. Artemis was still sitting in the grass, waiting for my answer.

"No, Artemis. We can't still be friends."

His face fell. He sighed. "Alright, Holly. I understand."

I smiled slightly. It truly made him sad when I said that. "I don't think you do."

He looked up at me, for once looking confused. I crawled over to him, and put one hand on his chest for balance. Then I leaned up and kissed him.

For a second he froze. Then I felt one hand come up behind my head and the other on my back pulling me closer as he kissed me back. I reached my other hand up to tangle my fingers in Artemis' hair, leaning into him as I took my hand away from the ground and lost the ability to steady myself. I felt Artemis' hand in my hair. He pulled me closer, onto his lap. I reached my other hand up off his chest to wrap my arms around his neck. His arm was around my waist, the other hand still twisted in my hair.

I don't know how long the kiss lasted. I lost track of time. Artemis was the one who finally pulled away, although he didn't move me from his lap, and his arms stayed around me. I leaned my head against his chest. I could hear his heartbeat.

The sun was beginning to set. Artemis pushed me off his lap and led me over to a tree at the edge of the field. He leaned back against it and pulled me back down into his lap. I leaned back against him and watched the sun set. As the sun finally went down I shivered. Artemis' arms tightened around me.

"Are you cold?" he said quietly.

I nodded. Artemis stood, pulling me up with him. He put the archery equipment away, then led me by the hand back up to the house.

Butler had just finished preparing dinner, and we sat down to eat. Artemis' family was away for a few days, so I didn't have to worry about hiding my ears, or fairy gadgets. Juliet was there though, and she was glad to see me.

After dinner, Artemis asked me if I would like to go look at the stars. I agreed, and he went and got a couple blankets before leading me out to the garden. He laid one blanket on the ground and sat down, pulling down next to him, and putting the other blanket around us.

The sky was clear, and the stars were bright. I searched until I found one of the only mudman constellations I knew: Orion. I had Foaly show me how to find it a long time ago, knowing that one day I could tease Artemis with it. Smiling, I pointed it out to Artemis. He sighed, no doubt thinking of all the stupid things Orion had done or said.

Artemis pointed out other human constellations, and I pointed out the fairy ones. Some were the same, I was surprised to learn. Artemis said that it made sense. He said humans probably adopted fairy constellations.

I was starting to get tired. I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. Artemis sensed this. Or maybe I fell asleep on him. Artemis pulled me close and stopped talking. I curled up against him and felt myself drifting off to sleep, my head on his shoulder. I sighed contentedly as we fell asleep together under the stars.

FIN

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